Chinese soup spoon

ABSTRACT

A spoon has a bowled area having a base and a surrounding edge extending around the base, and an elongated handle attached to the bowled area, with the handle having a base. A plurality of holes are provided in the base of the handle adjacent the bowled area.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to Chinese soup spoons, and in particular,to a Chinese soup spoon having draining holes.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Chinese soup spoons have been useful in holding mouthfuls of soup orother liquids. These soup spoons are almost like smaller ladles, havinga deep bowled area for holding liquids, and a long handle extending at asteep angle. These soup spoons are effective for scooping and conveyingliquids, and also for holding food items with gravy or sauce.

When a person uses a Chinese soup spoon to scoop hot soup with solidfood matter (e.g., meat or vegetables) in the bowled area, it isdifficult to separate the soup or liquid from the solid food matter. Theuser may sometimes wish to eat the solid food matter straight from theChinese soup spoon, but may not wish to consume the hot soup at the sametime. It can be difficult to tilt the spoon to allow the soup to drainoff along an edge, since the solid food matter may also drain out withthe soup.

Some ladles or metal spoons provide holes in the bottom of the bowledarea. However, such ladles or spoons cannot be used to scoop soup orliquids, as they essentially act as filters, draining the soup orliquids immediately from the spoon.

Therefore, there still remains a need for a Chinese soup spoon whichallows a user to use the spoon for drinking soup or liquids, while alsoallowing the user to drain the soup or liquid without losing or removingany solid food matter held therein.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

It is an object of the present invention is to provide a Chinese soupspoon which allows a user to use the spoon for drinking soup or liquids,while also allowing the user to drain the soup or liquid without losingor removing any solid food matter held therein.

In order to accomplish the objectives of the present invention, thepresent invention provides a spoon having a bowled area having a baseand a surrounding edge extending around the base, and an elongatedhandle attached to the bowled area, with the handle having a base. Aplurality of holes are provided in the base of the handle adjacent thebowled area.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a Chinese soup spoon according to thepresent invention.

FIG. 2 is an expanded view of the portion of the handle of the spoon ofFIG. 1 labeled A.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional side view of the spoon of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a spoon according to another embodimentof the present invention.

FIG. 5A is a perspective view of a spoon according to yet anotherembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5B is an enlarged view of the transition area for the spoon of FIG.5A.

FIG. 6A is a perspective view of a spoon according to yet a furtherembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6B is an enlarged view of a portion of the handle area for thespoon of FIG. 6A.

FIG. 7 illustrates how the hook can be used to hook or otherwise engagethe handle of the spoon against an upper lip or edge of a bowl.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a spoon according to yet anotherembodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The following detailed description is of the best presently contemplatedmodes of carrying out the invention. This description is not to be takenin a limiting sense, but is made merely for the purpose of illustratinggeneral principles of embodiments of the invention. The scope of theinvention is best defined by the appended claims.

Referring to FIGS. 1-3, the Chinese soup spoon 10 according to thepresent invention has a bowled area 12 and a long handle 14 extending ata steep angle from an end of the bowled area 12. The bowled area 12 andthe handle 14 can be made from the same piece of material, which can beporcelain, metal, plastic, or any other known material used for suchsoup spoons. The bowled area 12 is generally oval, and is defined by abase 16 and an enclosing wall 18 that extends from the base 16. Theenclosing wall 18 extends upwardly along the handle 14 so that anenclosed holding area HA is defined from the bowled area 12 up along aportion of the handle 14.

A hook 20 is provided on the underside of the handle 14 adjacent the end22 of the handle 14. FIG. 7 illustrates how the hook 20 can be used tohook or otherwise engage the handle 14 of the spoon 10 against an upperlip or edge of a bowl. This allows the spoon 10 to be held inside thebowl against the lip or edge, without having the entire spoon 10 sag orslip into the bowl.

The handle 14 has an elongated base 24 that extends from the base 16 ofthe bowled area 12. As best shown in FIG. 3, a plurality of holes 26 areprovided in the base 24 at a vertical level that is the same as, orslightly higher than, the top edge 28 of the enclosing wall 18. In otherwords, these holes 26 are located near or adjacent the bowled area 12.These holes 26 allow liquid (e.g., hot soup or gravy) that is held inthe holding area HA of the bowled area 12 to be displaced therethrough.By positioning these holes 26 at a vertical level that is the same as,or slightly higher than, the top edge 28 of the enclosing wall 18, thespoon 10 can be seated on a flat surface (e.g., as shown in FIG. 3)without liquid being displaced. However, by tilting the end 22 of thehandle 14 slightly in the direction of arrow T, the liquid in theholding area HA will flow towards the handle 14 and then be displacedthrough the holes 26.

The spoon 10 allows a user to use the spoon for drinking soup orliquids, while also allowing the user to drain the soup or liquidwithout losing or removing any solid food matter held therein. Forexample, referring to FIG. 3, if the spoon 10 was not holding any solidfood matter, the liquid held in the holding area HA would not spill orleak or otherwise be displaced. The user can then drink from the spoon10. If the spoon 10 were holding solid food matter (e.g., chunks of meatM), the user can drain some of the gravy or sauce or soup held in theholding area HA by slightly tilting the end 22 of the handle 14,allowing the liquid to flow upwardly along the handle 14 to the holes 26where the liquid can be displaced without spilling or otherwise losingthe meat chunks M.

FIG. 4 illustrates the concepts of the present invention applied to aregular spoon 10 a that does not have any enclosing wall 18. The spoon10 a can also have a bowled area 12 a and a handle 14 a similar to thespoon 10, and the holes 26 a can be positioned at the same generalvertical level as the holes 26 in FIGS. 1-3. Since there is a smallconcavity to the bowled 12 a and the handle 14 a, an enclosing wall isnot needed, though such a spoon 10 a would not hold as much liquid asthe spoon 10.

FIGS. 5A-5B illustrate a modification to the spoon 10 in FIGS. 1-3 usingtiered levels. Specifically, the spoon 10 b in FIG. 5A can be same asthe spoon 10 in that the bowled areas 12, 12 b, enclosing walls 18, 18b, and handles 14, 14 b are the same, but the transition area 40 bbetween the base 16 b of the bowled area 12 b and the base 24 b of thehandle 14 b defines an intermediate level, so that there are now threevertical levels: the base 16 b, the transition area 40 b, and the base24 b. The holes 26 b are provided at the transition area 24 b. Providingthe additional level at transition area 40 b can be useful in otherapplications. For example, a user may use the spoon 10 b to scoop soupor stew having two or more types of solid food matter, such as chunks ofchicken and bits of pea. The user could desire to have the chunks ofchicken stay in the bowled area 12 b with the soup, while separating thepeas. To do so, the spoon 10 b can be tilted so that the peas can bemoved to the transition area 40 b where soup can be drained from thepeas at the transition area 40 b. This is merely one non-limitingexample of a functionality of the transition area 40 b, while other usesand functions are also possible.

FIGS. 6A-6B illustrate a modification to the spoon 10 a in FIG. 4.Specifically, the spoon 10 c in FIG. 6A can be same as the spoon 10 a inthat the bowled areas 12 a, 12 c, and handles 14 a, 14 c can be almostthe same, but the handle 14 c of the spoon 10 c now has a neck area 40 cthat is adjacent the bowled area 12 c. As best shown in FIG. 6B, theneck area 40 c has a defined well 42 c with holes 26 c provided in thewell 42 c. The well 42 c provides a depression defined by a surroundingwall 44 c. As a result, soup or liquid flowing from the bowled area 12 cup along the handle can be prevented from reaching the user's fingers bythe well 42 c and its wall 44 c.

FIG. 8 illustrates another spoon 10 d that utilizes the concept of thetransition area 40 b in FIGS. 5A-5B. The spoon 10 d can be a ladle thathas a handle 14 d directly attached to an enclosing wall 18 d. The holes26 d are not provided along the handle 14 d, but are provided in atransition area 40 d that extends radially outwardly around thecircumference of the bowled area 12 d to define an annular shoulder. Theenclosing wall 18 d extends upwardly from the outer annular edge of thetransition area 40 d. Thus, the transition area 40 d can be used toseparate pieces of solid food matter from the soup or liquid that isheld in the bowled area 12 d, with liquid draining from the holes 26 d.

While the description above refers to particular embodiments of thepresent invention, it will be understood that many modifications may bemade without departing from the spirit thereof. The accompanying claimsare intended to cover such modifications as would fall within the truescope and spirit of the present invention.

1. A spoon, comprising: a bowled area having a base and a surroundingedge extending around the base; an elongated handle attached to thebowled area, the handle having a base; and a plurality of holes providedin the base of the handle adjacent the bowled area.
 2. The spoon ofclaim 1, further including an enclosing wall extending around the edgeof the bowled area and along a portion of the handle.
 3. The spoon ofclaim 2, wherein the holes are provided in the base of the handle at avertical level that is the same as, or slightly higher than, a top edgeof the enclosing wall.
 4. The spoon of claim 1, further including a hookprovided at an underside of the handle at an end of the handle oppositethe bowled area.
 5. The spoon of claim 3, wherein the base of the bowledarea, the base of the handle, and the enclosing wall define a holdingarea.
 6. The spoon of claim 1, wherein the handle has a neck area thatis adjacent the bowled area, with the neck area having a well, andwherein the holes are provided in the well, the well having a depressionformed by a surrounding wall.
 7. A spoon, comprising: a bowled areahaving a base and a surrounding edge extending around the base; anelongated handle having a base; a transition area between the bowledarea and the handle, the transition area having a different verticallevel as the base of the bowled area and the base of the handle; anenclosing wall extending around the edge of the bowled area and along aportion of the handle; and a plurality of holes provided in thetransition area.
 8. The spoon of claim 7, further including a hookprovided at an underside of the handle at an end of the handle oppositethe bowled area.
 9. The spoon of claim 7, wherein the base of the bowledarea, the transition area, the base of the handle, and the enclosingwall define a holding area.
 10. A spoon, comprising: a bowled areahaving a base and a surrounding edge extending around the base; atransition area extending around the edge of the bowled area, and havinga outer edge; an enclosing wall extending upwardly from the outer edgeof the transition area; an elongated attached to the enclosing wall; anda plurality of holes provided in the transition area.